Career alternatives to law? Forum

[msuz]

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[20130312]

Thanks for falsely attributing a quote to me, much appreciated.

[msuz]

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[Blindmelon]

I always feel stupid answering stuff like this when I'm like 33% sure it's a flame. Whatever...
Medicine is by far the most secure and risk-averse

b

Ever heard of medical malpractice, and how malpractice insurance causes doctors to get out of the profession by the time their 40 there Einstein?(Not to mention the effect Obamacare will have)

Medical malpractice? You mean that boogey-man that insurance companies use to justify their unbelievable rates which they turn into record profits?

[Gecko of Doom]

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[AriGoldButNicer]

If the path to riches were so clear and straightforward, wouldn't everyone just take it? Capitalism is a meritocracy...if you want to get rich, you have to be truly innovative and invent something which currently doesn't exist and that other people find useful. Unfortunately, this is becoming more difficult as all the easy things have already been invented, so to invent things which are new and useful is requiring a higher and higher knowledge base.

People should be happy with a 55k salary and working for 40 years, eventually topping out around 100k. Unless you are a genius, or have certain very unique aptitudes, that is where you belong.

this is actually a smart point from someone i used to regard as an idiot. i do disagree that you need to "invent" something to be rich. you can also just be really good at what you do, but yeah, not everyone with a degree that isn't particularly difficult to get when you consider all of the crappy schools deserves to be rich.

[JoeMo]

Don't go to law school to get rich, it's a horrible idea and there's a 95% chance it won't happen.

TITCR

[AriGoldButNicer]

this is a recession - there is no "guaranteed to make bank field." things like construction may improve as our country needs better infrastructure, but these guys aren't rich. as upsetting as it is, the only good way to get rich is to actually be very good at something that other people need, and can't do on their own or up to your standard, be able to get along with them and have enough sense to not let them screw you. this could be anything from starting a restaurant to practicing law.

[msuz]

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[Gecko of Doom]

Yeah I know, sorry everyone. I'll stop trying to be funny.

Not trying to be critical. Just realized after the fact that the level of ridiculousness in current political discourse could have led my comments to be taken seriously.
[/derail]

[john1990]

i heard that garbage men make good money

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=du-sBTWj ... ure=relmfu

[AriGoldButNicer]

a lot of people become police officers. it seems that all you need is average intelligence, being psychologically stable and getting along with other cops.

[PennQuaker]

a lot of people become police officers. it seems that all you need is average intelligence, being psychologically stable and getting along with other cops.

How about a little bit more respect for the men and women of law enforcement?

PS: Entourage stopped being cool around season 3

[20130312]

Yeah I know, sorry everyone. I'll stop trying to be funny.

Not trying to be critical. Just realized after the fact that the level of ridiculousness in current political discourse could have led my comments to be taken seriously.
[/derail]

No funny allowed, this is a very serious forum

[AreJay711]

a lot of people become police officers. it seems that all you need is average intelligence, being psychologically stable and getting along with other cops.

[z0rk]

Eliot Spitzer payed over 13k for a call girl. That's a heck of an hourly rate, much more than any attorney would charge a client.

Oprah is still single too, so there's your "in" with the marry rich.

[Aberzombie1892]

OP, you're doing it wrong.

Statistically speaking, your chances of ever making $150,000 or higher is much better with an MBA than an JD. However, your chances of ever making over $250,000 even with a top MBA are slim. Businessweek did a study on MBA salaries 5, 10, 20 years out among the top 40 MBA schools, and no school had graduates making $250,000 or more on average 20 years out (although Harvard, Stanford, and Penn had 20 year salaries above $200,000).

I believe payscale did a study that said that Stanford law grads make the most down the road, so for you (and your goals of using academics to be "rich," as opposed to creativity and hard work), I would recommend the following:

1. Get an undergraduate degree in Petroleum Engineering
2. Acquire 5 years of experience (with your entry level pay of $100,0000, no less)
3. Apply to, get accepted by, and graduate from Stanford's JD/MBA program
4. ????
5. Profit

Do these numbers take bonuses into account?

It states "cash compensation," so presumably yes. However, it wouldn't include stock and other benefits, and those items would easily make up for the difference on average (and together they would likely be a multiple of the cash compensation).

Have you NEVER read an annual report or taking an entry level Accounting Course? Newsflash: "executive compensation" INCLUDES stock options/awards AND other benefits-IT's the law that you publicly traded companies MUST disclose those for top officers.

What is this I don't even

Read the posts you are quoting before you try to incorrectly correct someone.

Cash compensation = base pay + bonus. It's in the fine print of the article, and in the subsequent Businessweek articles related MBA salaries.

[Tiago Splitter]

Capitalism is a meritocracy...if you want to get rich, you have to be truly innovative and invent something which currently doesn't exist and that other people find useful. Unfortunately, this is becoming more difficult as all the easy things have already been invented.

--MTal, June, 1907

[Perdevise]

The medical school test is more difficult than the LSAT (it has logical reasoning components, math and science and two graded essays). And medical school seats are super competitive. One does not simply walk into an MD.

Medicine is a more stable job.

Not sure what you are trying to counter.

Not trying to counter anything. Just saying that I think its harder to become a doctor than an attorney.

[PennQuaker]

Have you NEVER read an annual report or taking an entry level Accounting Course? Newsflash: "executive compensation" INCLUDES stock options/awards AND other benefits-IT's the law that you publicly traded companies MUST disclose those for top officers.

What is this I don't even

Read the posts you are quoting before you try to incorrectly correct someone.

Cash compensation = base pay + bonus. It's in the fine print of the article, and in the subsequent Businessweek articles related MBA salaries.

http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm
No offense, but I trust the SEC disclosure rules over your "Businessweek article."

[Aberzombie1892]

http://www.sec.gov/answers/execomp.htm
No offense, but I trust the SEC disclosure rules over your "Businessweek article."

I was simply saying that you rushed into responding to my post without really reading what it said. No harm is done.

I prefer to look at cash compensation only, as it gives a common standard that you can compare across all industries and business schools. Benefits (mostly stock and retirement), on the other hand, can vary dramatically depending on the industry and occupation of each individual, and many candidates voluntarily choose less benefit focused occupations and industries over others. For that reason, I don't think MBA programs should be disadvantaged in rankings and comparisons because Susan wanted to work at Deutsche Bank instead of Goldman Sachs or Amazon, especially if her salary and bonus would be roughly the same.

Also, Businessweek (and US News) is about as credible as the SEC is now, if not more so haha.

[PennQuaker]

Aberzombie- good points- agree that the SEC is a joke, those clowns were prolly too busy investigating grandmothers thousand dollar trades to catch Madoff.

As far as stock options, I see your point, but generally that is where the REAL money is made(top execs often have modest base salaries, but the stock is what pushes them into 8 and sometime 9 figures)

[charliep]

thanks for clearing up the misquotes, gecko, although it's still upsetting to see my name associated with those out-of-context remarks

[jasonkramer]

If the path to riches were so clear and straightforward, wouldn't everyone just take it? Capitalism is a meritocracy...if you want to get rich, you have to be truly innovative and invent something which currently doesn't exist and that other people find useful. Unfortunately, this is becoming more difficult as all the easy things have already been invented, so to invent things which are new and useful is requiring a higher and higher knowledge base.

People should be happy with a 55k salary and working for 40 years, eventually topping out around 100k. Unless you are a genius, or have certain very unique aptitudes, that is where you belong.

one of the greatest thins Ive ever read.

just make a little more than you need to survive and seek happiness. that's what i want.